


Cisco's Love Donut

by sssssssim



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, Valentine's Day, love donut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-28 05:26:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17781410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sssssssim/pseuds/sssssssim
Summary: With Valentine's Day fast approaching, Caitlin starts thinking of doing something nice for Cisco. Something nice, sugary, and way over the top. And whatever Frost says, Caitlin wasn't doing it to get into Cisco's pants. She wasn't!





	Cisco's Love Donut

**Author's Note:**

> Happy schmoop day! This fic came to life because of that one love donut scene in 3x14, and because of the lovely people on the [killervibe discord](https://discord.gg/mPDXxBN) kept bringing it up.

 

It was the middle of January when Caitlin first started seeing pink hearts. 

She was in the grocery store, debating whether or not she really needed the maxi bag of M&Ms, when her eyes caught something obnoxiously pink. It was a heart shaped chocolate box that said  _ Be my Valentine _ .

Caitlin immediately thought of Cisco. She knew he will be having a bad time, come Valentine’s Day. Some time had passed since he and Gypsy broke up, and he did go on a few dates, here and there, but nothing stuck. He was bound to be sad, single on Valentine’s.

She wanted to make him feel better. Maybe not forget about the pain he was in, but distract him, in some way. She’ll have to think of something, some sort of activity they could do on Valentine’s that will help ease his pain.

Caitlin sighed, putting down the maxi bag of M&Ms. The truth was, she wanted more than that. She didn’t just want to spend Valentine’s with Cisco, being a good friend and helping him get over his heartbreak. The truth was that she wanted to go on a date with Cisco on Valentine’s.

Things changed, over the last months. Since Gypsy left, since Icicle turned up, since Cisco told her  _ You’re my family _ . Since she convinced him not to take the cure. 

They were closer, somehow. It wasn’t in a different way, they were still best friends, incredibly platonic, but Caitlin felt different. She felt more than the brotherly love she lived with all these past years, and as much as she wanted to act on it, wanted to gather Cisco in her arms and kiss him senseless, she knew it wasn’t what he needed.

So she refrained herself. It was difficult, to act like the best friend Cisco needed her to be, but she did it. And she’ll do it, come Valentine’s. Caitlin will figure something out, something to help Cisco get by the day. It’s what best friends are for, right?

Sighing, she grabbed the maxi M&M bag and headed to the alcohol section. 

◺♥◿

It took another week for Caitlin to have an idea, and she only got it because of Barry. 

On a random Tuesday, he turned up at the lab with three boxes of donuts. Among them, there was a very particular donut that Caitlin had seen once before: shaped as a heart, covered in sprinkles.

She remembered that Valentine’s day perfectly: Julian was in London, Cisco and Gypsy were not yet dating. He said  _ Sometimes it seems like everybody else gets to have their love donut. Where’s my love donut? _ , and Caitlin told him that love was complicated. She also made a fool out of herself afterwards, complimenting him in a ridiculous way, but it was still a nice memory. A good one.

Cisco saying  _ Where’s my love donut?  _ kept ringing in her ears as she ate the love donut Barry brought. Slowly, a plan formed in her head. It was… kind of ridiculous, really, over the top, but she was sure he was going to love it.

Looking at him, she saw that he had three donuts in his hands, he had bitten into all of them, and there was a big smear of vanilla frosting on his top lip.

That settled it. She had research to do, things to buy, and a lot of trial and error ahead of her.

◺♥◿

Caitlin was a good enough cook, but she wasn’t so versed in the realm of baking. She was going to try, though, she was going to bake Cisco a cake.

The first step of  _ Operation Love Donut  _ was to place a large Amazon order. She got cake pans in various shapes, more spatulas and long serrated knives than a normal person needed, piping bags and a lot of different piping tips, a set of 20 gel food colors, gold edible luster dust, three large bags of very colorful sprinkles, gold colored boards, a Lazy Susan turntable. She was clearly going all out, so she brought a stand mixer and a deep fryer, thinking this won’t be the only time she will use them.

The next step of  _ Operation Love Donut  _ was figuring out recipies and a design for the cake. Cisco loved chocolate, so that took the decision out of it, and of course she needed to make donuts to decorate. Figuring out how it will look like was the easiest thing.

What came next was more difficult. Over the next weeks, Caitlin tried a whole lot of recipes, for chocolate cakes and donuts, for buttercream and chocolate ganache. It took a long while, a lot of ugly looking sweets donated to a woman’s shelter, but she did settle on a set of recipes that tasted delicious.

The day after her decisions were made, Cisco came to work bitching about how the city looked like Valentine’s monster barfed everywhere, and how much he hated it and blablabla. The longer he spoke, the more Caitlin believed she was doing the right thing.

◺♥◿

A few days before Valentine’s, Ralph summoned her to the speed lab. When she got there, Cisco, Sherloque and Nora were already waiting.

‘I have had an idea!’, Ralph announced. ‘Valentine’s Day is fast approaching and we are all single.’

Caitlin didn’t like where this was going.

‘There’s this bar’, he went on, ‘an Irish pub called The Harp, and they’re doing a single’s night.’

‘And what makes you think we want to go out and pick someone up?’, Cisco asked, gruffly.

Everyone seemed to agree.

‘I’m not saying we should do that.’, Ralph placated. ‘I’m just saying we could go out, have some drinks, eat some fish and chips, play some pool, hang out. While Iris and Barry are out being, you know, all lovey-dovey.’

After a long pause, Nora smiled. ‘I’d like not to be there for that. I think it’s a good idea, Ralph.’

‘I already have a date.’, Sherloque said proudly, winking at Nora before he left.

Caitlin looked to Cisco. He wasn’t convinced, obviously, but he looked at the way Nora was smiling widely, and he relented.

‘I guess it’s better that spending the night on my couch, watching romcoms alone.’

They all turned to her, expectantly. She’d have to change her plan, but she could still swing it. 

‘Alright.’, Caitlin smiled. ‘Just keep me away from the tequila.’

Cisco cackled evilly at that.

◺♥◿

Barry and Iris made the executive decision to give everyone Valentine’s Day off. Caitlin spent it in the kitchen. 

She baked two large chocolate cakes, made a big batch of buttercream, spent a lot of time mixing colors until she got it to the perfect dark red, made a dark chocolate cream and a chocolate glaze. She fried a dozen heart shaped donuts, filled them with the cream and topped them with the glaze, covering them in small rainbow sprinkles. 

Then came the decorating part.

She printed herself a template, heart shaped. She used that to cut the two cakes to size, and the board that will hold the final product. 

The first layer was a chocolate heart cake. On top, she spreaded a thin layer of dark red buttercream, so that the donuts she put on top had something to stick to. She had to cut some of them, played a bit of tetris in order to cover the whole heart with smaller hearts. On top of the donuts, she had to put a few dollups of buttercream, so that the chocolate cake she put on top didn’t slip. 

What came out was a chocolate cake sandwich, filled with donuts. It was a pretty thick monstrosity, but it seemed sturdy enough and she had long ago accepted the fact that it was going to be over the top.

‘This isn’t very platonic.’, Frost pointed out. ‘You do realize Cisco will see right through it, right?’

‘He won’t. He can be pretty oblivious.’

‘We’ll see.’, Frost hummed, clearly not convinced. ‘Can I have a donut?’

‘After I’m done.’, Caitlin rolled her eyes.

The next step was covering the entire cake in dark red buttercream. It took a ridiculous amount of time, because Caitlin was apparently pretty ocd when it came to baking. The turntable kept on spinning for almost half an hour between several trips to the fridge, as she went over the cake again and again, until it was as smooth as possible and the edges were sharp enough. 

After that, she covered the top in chocolate cream, and then carefully put a handful of strategically placed large sprinkles. Just like the donuts. She left a place clear in the middle, intending to write something in afterwards. As a last second decision, she took three of the leftover donuts and placed them on top of the cake, on the right rounded side of the heart.

‘Too much color.’, she said, critically looking at her creation.

‘Yeah.’, Frost agreed. ‘Maybe you could use the gold dust?’

That was actually a great idea. She hydrated it using a little vodka, creating somewhat of a paint, and thanked the Amazon lords that the luster dust came with a set of brushes. Slowly and methodically, she painted gold on top of all the sprinkles on the cake. The chocolate cream was still visible underneath, and the gold was creating a nice contrast against it.

‘Should I paint the three donuts too?’

‘No.’, Frost answered immediately. ‘Leave them colored, they’ll match the ones inside.’

Caitin agreed.

There was one last step. Using a small circle piping tip, she very slowly used the red buttercream to write the words  _ Cisco’s Love Donut  _ on the circle left free on the middle of the cake.

Putting the piping bag down, she looked at the finished result.

‘I can’t believe I pulled it off.’

‘Looks good, Caity.’, Frost agreed. ‘If the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, you’ll definitely be in Cisco’s pants by the end of tonight.’

‘That’s not why I did this!’, Caitlin shrieked.

‘Sure, I believe you.’ Frost didn’t.

Caitlin didn’t bother arguing anymore. She cleaned up her kitchen, which took an extra hour on top of the six she spent baking and decorating, put the cake in the fridge and started getting ready to go out. 

◺♥◿

An hour and a half before they were set to meet at the bar, Caitlin caved and called Nora.

‘I know this is going to sound very weird, but what are you wearing tonight?’

‘Not a dress.’, Nora laughed. ‘Shorts and tiny heels.’

‘Okay.’, Caitlin nodded, putting back the silver sparkly dress she was holding. ‘I can work with that, okay.’

In the end, she didn’t wear a dress. Instead, she put on a black skirt that stopped on top of her knees, a simple dark blue top and, taking a note out of Nora’s book, a pair of comfy boots with tiny heels. At Frost’s insistence, she put on bright pink lipstick.

Caitlin had to admit she looked good. It wasn’t over the top, it was more casual than the clothes she usually wore to work, but it was also more playful, somewhat.

‘He’s going to love it.’, Frost all but sang.

‘Shut up.’, Caitlin blushed. ‘I won’t be able to handle tonight if you’re going to keep teasing me.’

‘I’ll shut up.’, she was gentle. ‘But I can’t promise I won’t tease the hell out of you tomorrow.’

It was as good as it was going to get.

◺♥◿

When Nora saw her, she grinned widely, winking and telling her ‘Good choice.’ The boys looked good, too, both of them in dark colored button ups, hair styled and clearly, ready to have some fun.

Ralph had reserved them a booth at the back of the bar, and the closest pool table. The bar was pretty nice, not too fancy but cozy looking, the music was good and not too loud, and the only thing that was Valentine’s related was that they all got an obnoxiously pink cocktail on the house. 

It was good, and the food they ordered after was good, too. They talked through dinner, nothing even remotely related to dating or lack thereof. Cisco was sitting next to her, and he shamelessly stole half of her fries. But he also got the first round of beers, so she wasn’t too upset. 

◺♥◿

The boys started a game of pool, but Caitlin and Nora stayed behind, still munching on their food. 

‘So.’, Nora leveled her with a look. ‘Are we picking up tonight, or are we not?’

Caitlin startled. ‘I’m not, I’m definitely not. And I think your mom and dad will have my neck if I let you pick up a stranger.’

‘Probably.’, Nora chuckled. ‘I don’t want to do that, anyway. Would be weird, with me being from the future and all.’

Caitlin had seen stranger things, but she didn’t point that out.

‘But I’m allowed to have some fun, right?’, Nora wiggled her eyebrows.

‘Sure, just… be careful.’, Caitlin sighed. ‘I’m not your parent, but-’

‘I know, I get it.’, Nora smiled. ‘You can have some fun, too, you know.’

Involuntarily, her eyes moved to where Cisco and Ralph were already arguing, even as they were still playing pool.

‘With someone else, I mean.’, Nora pointed out. 

Caitlin shook her head. ‘I’m more than happy being single, thank you very much. And I’ve never been a fan of one nights stands.’

Her eyes grew wide. ‘It’s very weird, talking about this with my friends’ daughter.’

Nora laughed. ‘But I’m your friend too, so it’s fine. But okay, if you say so, I won’t be your wingwoman tonight.’

‘Thank you.’, Caitlin chuckled. ‘We can still have fun, though.’

‘Oh, definitely.’, Nora got up. ‘Wanna beat the boys at pool?’

‘I’m terrible at pool.’, Caitlin said, but followed her to the table anyway.

◺♥◿

They played a few games, switching teams and switching from beers to wine. 

When Caitlin was teamed up with Cisco, he was always very understanding and sweet when she messed up a shot. When he was teamed up with Ralph, he yelled and cursed. 

Caitlin didn’t want to get her hopes up, because this was just Cisco being Cisco, like he’s always been, but it was hard to deny the hope in her chest. And Frost kept giggling inside of her mind.

Still, she had fun. Mostly.

Every time she got separated from the group, when she went to get drinks at the bar or was on her way to the bathroom, some guy stopped her.

Can I buy you a drink? Wanna dance? Wanna beat me at pool? A beautiful woman like you shouldn’t be single on Valentine’s. Can I take you home?

After the 8th time she had to turn a guy down and run back to her friends, Cisco asked if she was okay.

‘This is fine.’, Caitlin said, but she couldn’t disguise her annoyance.

‘Does this usually happen?’, Ralph asked, genuinely curious, before realizing how rude that sounded. ‘I mean, of course every guy in this bar wants to take you home, you’re gorgeous, Caitlin, really, you look beautiful tonight and every night and day-’

She wished the ground would swallow her whole.

‘-but this seems a little… excessive.’, Ralph finished.

‘It’s the Valentine’s Day effect.’, Cisco said very seriously. ‘Every guy in this bar thinks that every woman is particularly desperate tonight, so they have no issues with hitting on someone who’s way out of their league.’

Caitlin stared at him. Was there a compliment in there?

‘Definitely.’, Frost snickered in her mind.

‘A more important question, though’, Nora leveled her with a look, ‘is why you canceled all of the guys. There were a couple who really looked like your type.’

Caitlin was quick to shake her head. ‘I don’t have a type.’

‘You kinda do.’, Cisco winced. ‘Tall, handsome and buff. And like, kind of bad boys.’

Caitlin stared at him, affronted.

‘I mean, Ronnie was a player before he met you, and Jay turned out to actually be evil. Julian is the exception to the rule, but he had a very handsome intellect and he was bad because Barry hated him.’

‘Cisco, buddy’, Ralph chuckled weakly, ‘you may have had too much to drink.’

He just shrugged, looking at Caitlin and almost daring her to start arguing.

She didn’t. Instead, she turned to Nora.

‘My type has definitely changed. Frost wouldn’t let me get near any bad boy and honestly, I don’t need a man who can pick me up and throw me on the bed. I’ll throw myself on the damn bed.’

She may have had too much to drink, too.

‘Caitlin’, Nora snorted, ‘you won’t find a man who’s stronger than you. You’re Killer Frost!’

‘Actually-’, Cisco started, but shut himself up, looking with wide eyes at Caitlin.

She knew what he was thinking. Vibe was the only one who had ever defeated Frost one-on-one.

Instead of blurting out something she didn’t want to, Caitlin drained her glass of wine.

‘Ralph, it’s your turn to get drinks.’

‘Should I really-’

‘Drinks, man!’, Cisco ordered. ‘The lady asked for drinks!’

Ralph got up and left. Nora and Cisco were both looking at her, intrigued and amused.

‘Shut up.’, she grumbled. ‘I don’t need a man to make me feel better.’

‘But do you want one?’, Nora wiggled her eyebrows.

Caitlin didn’t answer. 

◺♥◿

An hour later, it was Caitlin’s turn to get the drinks but this time, Cisco came with her.

‘Are you okay?’, he really seemed concerned.

‘I’m not drunk, just a little tipsy.’

‘I know that. I meant with all the…’, he waved his hands around, ‘guys!’

She blinked at him. ‘What?’

‘I’m just saying, just because we all got here together, doesn’t mean we have to leave together, alright?’

Tonight was really not going the way she had planned. Caitlin took a deep breath and leveled him with a look.

‘I don’t want a new guy to start a relationship with. I don’t have the time or the nerves for that right now.’

‘But-

‘And unless you plan on taking someone home tonight, which you’re free to do, of course, but I’d rather you came home with me.’

His jaw dropped.

Caitlin snorted. ‘Not like that, Cisco, but I do have something for you.’

He narrowed his eyes. ‘ A present?’

‘Yup.’ She smirked, because she knew she had him hooked.

‘Alright then.’, Cisco nodded. ‘Now, are you getting us tequila or-’

She didn’t get tequila because she wanted to be sober enough once they got home.

◺♥◿

Half an hour later, Nora dragged her to the dance floor.

Caitlin laughed and fooled around with Nora, but it took less than a song for men to surround them. Lots and lots of men. But then Ralph and Cisco were there, taking turns dancing with them, managing to keep all the other guys away.

It was fun. Ridiculous, sure, but Caitlin had a lot of fun, and not just when Cisco was holding her hands as he did the dance the creepy clown in IT did.

◺♥◿

It was close to 4AM when Nora said she was sleepy. Ralph didn’t let her run home, ordered a Lift and insisted on going with her. So Caitlin and Cisco were free to go to her place without enduring any weird looks.

Once there, Cisco got evidently excited. Caitlin snickered as she told him to follow her in the kitchen. 

‘So what is this? Is it a Valentine’s Day present?’

Caitlin got out plates and forks. ‘Well, today is Valentine’s Day, and I did get you a present for today. But it’s more of a don’t-feel-bad present.’

‘Why would I feel bad?’, Cisco frowned.

‘Because it’s Valentine’s Day.’, she said gently. ‘And you’re single, and you miss Gypsy.’

‘Fair point.’, he said after a beat. ‘But I didn’t… I didn’t think about her once, today.’ He chuckled. 

‘That’s good, isn’t it?’

‘Yeah, definitely. It’s just… kinda surprising.’ He took a deep breath and grinned. ‘What did you get me?’

Caitlin was feeling a bit shaky as she turned around to the fridge.

‘You still think he won’t figure it out?’, Frost asked. ‘Are you still pretending you don’t want him to figure it out?’

Of course, she didn’t answer her. Instead, Caitlin opened the fridge and took out the love donut cake, carefully placing it in front of Cisco, making sure he could read the text on it.

For a few long moments, Cisco just blinked down at the cake in front of him. Then he started laughing, a startled sound that grew and grew, until there were tears running down his face and he was doubled over the kitchen table, careful, though, not to jolt the cake.

She felt so much love for him in that moment, it made Frost want to throw up (her words, not Caitlin’s).

‘Caitlin’, he wheezed out, ‘I can’t believe you remembered this.’

She shrugged at that, silently, making him look up.

‘Did you make this?’

She nodded, once again surprising him.

‘What sort of cake is it?’

‘Chocolate, filled with donuts.’

‘There’s donuts inside?’

Again, she nodded. 

Wordlessly, Cisco pulled out his phone and started taking pictures of the cake. When he was satisfied, he sat down at the table and pulled a plate in front of himself.

He grinned up at her. ‘You can cut it up now.’

Caitlin did just that, giving him a pretty large size. He made a noise, when he saw the inside of the cake, some sort of surprised moan. It made her blush furiously, but it was alright, because Cisco only had eyes for the cake.

‘Do you mind if I have a slice?’, she asked sweetly.

‘Of course not, are you kidding me?’, he had not looked away from his slice of cake, was now taking pictures of it.

As she got some for herself, Cisco typed away at his phone, grinning wildly, but when she sat down next to him, he wasted no time, quickly digging into the cake. 

He moaned, very loudly. There was no way he didn’t notice the blush on her cheeks, and there was no way she could control her laughter.

‘This is amazing.’, Cisco said with his cheeks bulging. ‘You’re amazing.’

It was pretty good, she had to admit, downright sinful. If Caitlin were the type of person to go to the gym, she’d feel very guilty and spend a lot longer there, the next day. But she didn’t go to the gym, so she happily ate her cake, feeling very proud that she had made it.

They were silent as they ate, even if Cisco kept making moaning sounds and happy sighs every now and then. At one point, he leaned his head on her shoulder, even as he kept on eating.

He didn’t move away when their plates were empty. 

‘Thank you.’, he said gently. ‘This was incredibly sweet.’

‘I know, too much sugar, in everything, but that’s what the recipes-’

‘I didn’t mean it like that, Caitlin.’, he snorted. ‘I meant that it was a sweet gesture.’

‘Oh. I planned it before Ralph wanted to go out. Maybe it was too much, after all the wine.’

‘No, it definitely wasn’t. It was just what I needed to end the night.’

Caitlin hummed, pleased. ‘Did you have fun, though?’

‘I did, actually.’, he seemed surprised. ‘I didn’t think I would, just like I didn’t think I’d be able to not think about Gypsy. Day filled with surprises, I guess.’

She didn’t say anything, but patted his knee in comfort.

‘Can I be totally rude and take advantage of your sweet being?’

Caitlin snorted, but urged him on.

‘Can I crash on your couch? I feel like I’m gonna pass out in two minutes flat.’

‘Of course.’, she got up. ‘I’ll get you linens, go pull out the couch.’

Sooner than she thought possible, his bed was made and he was standing barefoot on the carpet. Caitlin knew that as soon as she was out of the room, he’ll take off his jeans and put two braids in his hair, most likely falling face first on the pillow, blanket half-heartedly thrown over his back, but not his legs.

‘Do you mind if I shower?’, she asked.

‘No, when I sleep I don’t hear anything.’

‘Well, good night, then.’

‘Night, Caitlin.’, he smiled. ‘Thank you for the cake.’

She got out of there before she said anything more.

◺♥◿

Caitlin felt exhausted, physically and emotionally, so she didn’t linger in the shower, eager to go to bed, knowing they only had a handful of hours before they had to go to work.

But when she got out of the bathroom, Cisco was still awake. Still in jeans, sitting up on the edge of the couch, staring at his phone.

‘Is something wrong?’, she asked, wearily.

He got up and came to her side. ‘I didn’t realize how it looked like.’

‘What?’

Cisco looked up at her, gulping. ‘You know how I have a few thousand twitter followers?’

She snorted. ‘50.000 counts for more than a few.’

‘So I tweeted pictures of the cake, with the caption  _ she’s the best _ . And I didn’t realize how it looked like.’

It was Caitlin’s turn to gulp. Cisco handed her his phone, app already opened at the tweet in question. She read a few of the comments, enough to figure out what he was talking about. Everyone assumed Cisco got the cake from his girlfriend, and everyone was telling him how nice she was, how lucky he was to have her.

With shaking fingers, Caitlin gave him back his phone.

‘This, this wasn’t like that, was it?’, he whispered. ‘I mean, this wasn’t a date.’

‘No.’, she was quick to answer.

Frost loudly told her not to lie, which made Caitlin flinch. He saw it, and he instantly knew what it meant.

‘What did Frost say?’

‘She told me not to lie.’

Her voice was whispered, and all the anxiety and sadness she had buried throughout the day and night came back with a vengeance.

‘What did you lie about?’, Cisco frowned at her.

She didn’t want to tell him, didn’t feel strong enough for it, but she also felt like it was a tipping point, like she  _ needed  _ to tell him. She didn’t feel hope anymore, not at all.

‘Hey’, his voice was very gentle and he grabbed her upper arm, ‘whatever it is, you can tell me. Did you… Caitlin, did you want this to be a date?’

‘No.’, she managed to look up at him. ‘But only because I know that’s not what you need right now.’

The confused expression he had on instantly cleared. He understood what she was saying, but he didn’t believe it. He looked shocked. Caitlin forced herself to smile at him, wanting to assure him that it was okay. She didn’t think she managed that too well.

After a few long moments, Cisco took his hand away from her arm, but he didn’t move away from her. 

‘And if I wouldn’t be... ‘, he shook his head. ‘And if I didn’t... not need that right now?’

She bit on her lower lip and shrugged helplessly at him.

‘Would this have been a date?’, he insisted.

‘Say it.’, Frost said gently in her mind. ‘He needs to hear it.’

Caitlin took a deep breath and nodded, once. ‘I would have wanted it to be.’

Once again, Cisco looked shocked, staring at her wide wide eyes. There was something very vulnerable in his expression, though, and Caitlin hated that it was there.

‘Remember when we talked about the love donut? I told you that your game was so strong.’

He chuckled weakly, alongside her. 

‘Well look at it now.’, she went on. ‘Your game with me was so strong, and you weren’t even trying.’

Cisco laughed at that, but he still looked at her in confusion. ‘I don’t understand how this happened.’

She shrugged, again. ‘Gradually. Slowly but surely.’

It didn’t explain anything, but Caitlin couldn’t add anymore.

Eventually, Cisco looked away from her and sighed. ‘I think I should go home.’

‘Yeah, that’s probably for the best.’

There was disappointment in her voice, and she said the words again, managing to make them sound more understanding than anything else.

‘Caitlin.’, Cisco said gently. ‘I need to think about this.’

‘I know.’, she smiled. ‘It’s fine, I understand. I… Look, I wasn’t planning on doing this. The cake wasn’t for this, I wasn’t planning on saying anything.’

‘No, I’m glad you did.’, he leveled her with a look. ‘I don’t like the thought of you keeping something big like this to yourself.’

Caitlin had to smile at that, very grateful. ‘The point is, you don’t need to… This might be big for me, but don’t make it big for you, okay?’

He pulled a face. 

‘Think about it, if you want to.’, Caitlin told him sternly. ‘But don’t make it something stressful. I’ll wait however long, if you ever want to talk again. If not, then I’m still your best friend.’

‘Thank you.’, he smiled. ‘You’re still amazing.’

‘Speaking of, don’t forget to take your cake.’

His eyes grew wide. ‘I’m taking the cake?’

Caitlin just rolled her eyes. Cisco sheepishly wished her a good night, and breached out of the kitchen. 

He took most of the cake, but still left some behind for Caitlin: the right top side of the heart and one of the decorative donuts.

◺♥◿

The next day at work, Cisco acted like everything was normal, like nothing weird happened. It made Caitlin feel incredibly relieved and glad.

But come lunchtime, as they were all working in the Cortex, trying to track down a meta, Cisco left for a short time and came back with a tupperware and a fork. Caitlin watched, in horror, as he opened up the lid and casually started eating a large piece of love donut cake. It said  _ Cisc _ .

He never once looked at Caitlin, and no matter how much everyone tried to get him to say where the hell did he get the cake, Cisco didn’t say one word about it.

Caitlin didn’t know what to make of that.

◺♥◿

Three days later, Vibe and Frost had to go out as backup for Flash and XS. It all went well, but after Barry and Nora sped back to Star Labs, Cisco hesitated in opening up a breach for the two of them.

‘Frost, can I ask you something?’

She just raised an eyebrow, expectant.

‘How would it work? If Caitlin ever got a boyfriend? How would that work… with you?’

Caitlin panicked, started shouting in Frost’s mind. Of course, she completely ignored it.

‘It’s not any of my business what Caity does. However, there’s an… understanding.’

‘What sort of understanding?’, Cisco’s eyes grew wide. ‘Would you, I mean, you’d have a different boyfriend?’

‘Cisco’, Frost got real close to him, ‘it depends on the boy in question, of course, but considering Caity’s very limited options, at the moment…’ She smirked. ‘We’d both have the same boyfriend.’

Cisco’s jaw dropped and honestly, so did hers, metaphorically. They never really discussed it, but somewhere in the back of her mind, Caitlin had known that Frost didn’t have any problems with Cisco, with Caitlin being with Cisco. She just didn’t think it would go further than that.

‘You really are the same person, huh?’, Cisco said, in awe.

Frost smirked at him. ‘Not exactly, but we are two sides of the same coin. A coin that might just end up in your pocket.’

Cisco blushed strongly, as Caitlin cursed at Frost, horrified.

She just laughed. ‘Come on, Vibe boy. Take us back to Star Labs before everyone thinks something’s wrong.’

He wordlessly opened up a breach and when Caitlin came back to the surface, he smiled at her, weird, but still fond.

◺♥◿

Having a movie marathon at Cisco’s with the whole team wasn’t unheard of, but it wasn’t a regular thing, either. Still, Caitlin didn’t hesitate to accept the invitation, on a random Friday night.

But before that, Frost had to come out to play, and she needed to go home and change afterwards. That was a good thing, because she preferred watching Netflix in leggings and hoodies instead of dresses and tights, but Caitlin got there late. She expected everyone to be waiting on her.

They weren’t, because it was only Cisco. In sweatpants and an old tshirt, with scented candles lit up around the living room, glasses of red wine and an arrangement of cupcakes. They were red velvet with white frosting, but they had a small love donut placed on top.

‘I have to admit’, Cisco sounded sheepish, ‘I did make the cupcakes, but I couldn’t handle donuts. I had to buy them. They’re not gonna be as delicious as your cake, but let’s be honest, nothing will ever be as delicious as that.’

‘What are you doing?’, Caitlin whispered shakily, ignoring Frost’s chants of ‘Yes, yes, yes, finally!’

‘I know it’s been awhile since Valentine’s, but I needed this time to…’ He took a deep breath. ‘The truth is, I didn’t need to think if I felt the same way about you. That has always been true, in the back of my mind.’ He pulled a face. ‘Or the front of my mind, depending on what period we’re talking about. Anyway!’

He smiled at her, nervous as hell. ‘I needed time to make it real, in my head. To accept the fact that you and I, together, is a real possibility, not just an unrealistic fantasy I came up with.’

She managed to whisper his name, but that was it. He looked terribly fond, smiling at her with a sparkle in his eyes. Caitlin was still unsure, she was still hesitating, she still doubted herself and doubted him, but there was none of that in Cisco. 

He picked up one of the cupcakes and stood up straight, extending it to her.

‘Will you be my love donut? And let me be your love donut?’

Cisco had asked the questions very seriously, even though it was clear that he was trying not to laugh. He was ridiculous, this whole situation was ridiculous.

She loved it. Caitlin couldn’t help but laugh, feeling love exploding in her chest. He just kept on smiling at her, love in his eyes, but still clearly waiting for an answer.

Caitlin felt beyond giddy, she felt like a child in a candy store, allowed to get any and every candy she wanted. So she acted like a child.

Quickly, she bent down and bit down on the cupcake, managing to get the entire love donut into her mouth. Cisco yelped loudly, his eyes growing wide. 

Caitlin chewed on the donut quickly. She knew there was frosting on her face, she probably looked ridiculous, but she didn’t care. Because Cisco was still watching her with love in his eyes. She had startled him, and he seemed frozen in place, but there was no less fondness in his eyes than a minute before.

The donut was delicious, but after Caitlin ate it, she wanted something even more sweet. So in a fit of childish bravery, she kissed Cisco. He made a surprised sound, in the back of his throat, but he was quick to respond. He placed his free hand on her waist and gently brought her closer. Caitlin went easily, until their chests were touching. With one hand on his chest, feeling his heartbeat under it, with her other hand in his soft hair, with his lips on hers, Caitlin felt like…

Like she got her love donut and she never wanted to let go.

But she did, eventually, only after she was sure Cisco had taken care of all the frosting on her face.

‘Come on.’, he smiled gently. ‘Let’s eat this cupcakes in the way we’re meant to…’

He threw her a look, but Caitlin felt no regret. None, whatsoever.

‘And watch Breakfast Club.’

Frost perked up at that, coming to the surface. ‘Breakfast Club?’

Cisco didn’t miss a beat, didn’t let go of her. ‘Yeah. You quoted a movie and I didn’t recognize it? It was a failure to my entire being, we must rectify this grave mistake!’

She laughed, kissed him again, not as long as before. By the time the kiss ended, she was back to Caitlin. She grabbed the rest of the cupcake that Cisco was still holding, and threw herself on the couch, eating it in a mildly proper manner. 

When he sat down next to her, he made sure to have their sides pressed together in a particular way that not only made for good cuddling, but also gave him access to Caitlin’s lips and the cupcakes.

For the entire movie, he never once grabbed a cupcake for himself. He only ate from Caitlin’s hands, and he ate all the mini love donuts.

Caitlin wasn’t even mad. Cisco could have as many love donuts as he wanted, as long as he was  _ her  _ love donut.


End file.
